Tractor



Aira, i7, 1923.

L. C. SHONTS ET AL TRACTOR 5 sheets-sheet 1 Filed July lO, 1920 Apr, 17, 1923.

Filed July lO 1920 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Apr. 17, 1923. 1,452,283

L. C. SHONTS ET AL TRACTOR' Fuga July 10,*1920 5 sheets-shee s ifa/@wor .Ze/@yd ko/@i Apr. 17, 1923.l 1,452,283 L. C. SHONTS ET AL TRACTOR Filed Ju1v 1o 1920 5 Shees-Sheet 4 Apg, m 1923. 1,452,283 V L. C. SHONTS ET AL TRACTOR Filed July lO, 1920 5 Sheets-Shea?l 5 Patented pr. l?, i923.

y NETE the? the?) fea?? LEROY C. SHONTS AND OTIS W. HOWARD, F MOLINE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNO BEESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO MOLINE PLOW COMPANY, INCORPORATED, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION 0F VIRGINIA TRACTOR.

` Application filed July 10, 1920. Serial No. 395,420.

T o all whom t may concernA Be it known that LEROY C. SHoN'rs and Oris W. HOWARD, citizens of the United States, residing at Moline, county of Rock llsland, State of'lllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tractors, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to tractors.

It relates particularly to mechanism for controlling a tractor.

Tractors are usually provided with a plurality of controls located near the position ot the operator so thatthey may be easily manipulated to control the movements of the tractor. These controls usually include a steering wheel or lever, a clutch lever, a throttle control, a gear shift and other control mechanisms depending upon the character of the trac-tor. lt is often rather ditlicult to place all these controls where they can be conveniently operated and furthermore, when a plurality of controls are used, it is relatively easy to become confused in a moment of excitement in regard to their manipulation. Under any conditions, it is' inconvenient to have a large number of controls.

One ot the objects of the present invention is to provide a control mechanism by means of which all the ordinary control functions of a tractor may be secured by the manipulation of a single lever.

Another object is to provide a control mechanism ttor a two wheel tractor of the unstable type by means of which the control of the tractor may be secured through the manipulation of a single lever.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which,

i Figure 1 is a side view ot a tractor with the controls illustrated thereon.

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail and partial. sectional view of the control mechanism.

Figure 3 is a section of one of the details of the control.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4 4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a side view of a modified form of control lever.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the construction shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a side view of a modification in which an additional controlling function is secured.

Figure 8 is a side view of a modified form of controlling lever.

Figure 9 is a vertical section of the construction shown in F ioure 8.

Figure 1() is a side view of a tractor showi* ing the method of transmitting power to an implement that is drawn by the tractor.

The control mechanism is particularly applicableV to and is illustrated in connection with a two-wheeled tractor of the unstable type. It may, however, be used with tractors of other types.

The two-wheeled tractor is provided with a power plant 1 carried by two drive wheels 2, only one of which is illustrated. rlhe power plant is connected with the drive wheels by suitable driving mechanism, not illustrated, the whole arrangement being one which provides a compact tractor unit in which the weight of the parts is carried by the two drive Wheels. The power plant is preferably mounted forward of the wheel axles so that it counter-balances the Weight of the parts to the rear of the axle. This provides a nicely balanced structure which enables'the rear of the tractor to be easily lifted around for connection to various implements.

A coupling frame 3 is p'ivoted tothe tractor so as to swing about a substantially vertical axis for steering purposes. The front portion of this frame is preferably of yoke formation. The rear portion extends backwardly and provides a mounting for the control connections and serves as a means for connecting the tractor to the device to be drawn so as to stabilize the tractor and in some cases transmit the draft. The coupling frame is provided with one or more brackets 4 having eyes for the reception of bolts pins on the device to be drawn. This permits the device tolie connected so that it is Jfree to swing about a substantially horizontal axis, the connection preferably being such that the device has a certain amount of longitudinal movement or play relative to the coupling trame as illustrated in Figure l.

lli the tractor is to be connected to a high draftdevice such as, for example, a cultivator, the draft will be transmitted through one or both of the brackets 4. It, however, the tractor is to be connected to a low draft device such as a plow, the draft is transmitted by a loW draft connection obtained by connecting the plow beams to the draft member which is provided with a series holes to permit the height of the draft to be adjusted to suit the requirements. In this case, the bracket or brackets 4 of the couplingn frame serve merely to stabilize the tractor and to provide a pivotal connection that peri/nits the drawn device toswing about a substantially horizontal pivot.

The control connections are preferably carried by the coupling trame and their movement is transmitted forward to the tractor through levers having ball and socket connections in substantially vertical alignment with the pivot of the coupling trarne to the tractor so that, when the frame is strung about its vertical axis for steering, the controls Will not be substantially moved 'from the position in which they have been set. lt is to be understood that any other suitable arrangement tor securing this result may be employed and it is not absolutely necessary that the connections be flexible in enact vertical alignment "with 'the pivot o' the coupling frame to the tractor. The controlling teature is to have the controis tiert ible so that the movements ot the coupling' frame in steering, will not interfere, from a practical standpoint, with the controls.

The levers which extend forward to the tractor may control any desired mechanism thereon but, in the tractor illustrated, `the upper lever controls the clutch l0', the lever il the gear shift 1l and the lever l2 the dit iterential lock 12". These levers are controlled through complementary levers 13, 14 and l5. The levers in previous tractors Were controllati separately and it was also customary to control the steering of the tractor separately. The steering' is preferably accomplished in a tractor of this type by pro viding a steering sector 16 vattached to the tractor, with which meshes the steering pinion i7 controlled by the steering wheel 18 shown in dotted lines in Figure l.

The prior arrangements necessitated several levers in the rear of the coupling 'traine and a separate steering wheel all of which had te be independently controlled by the operator. ln the present construction these ,y either of the members 24 or 25.

28 has an extension 32 to which may be concontrols including the steering are combined as follows, the steerinfr mechanism beine; i'ii'st explained. The steering is accomplished by the power of the tractor and for this purpose, the shaft 2O which is connected to the power mechanism of the tractor and continuously rotated thereby, is connected by a. universal joint to a shaft 2l which rotates in a suitable bearing in a housing 22 carried by the coupling frame. This shaft carries a cone clutch member 23 slidable upon the shalt and arranged to cooperate with the interior faces of two members Q4 and 25 which are inter-connected by a bevel gear Q6. The gear 25 meshes with the pinion 27 keyed to a shaft 28 carrying the' worm 29 which drives a worm 30 lixed to shatt 31 to which is keyed the pinion 1.7 which cooperates with the steering sector 16.

lt will be clear that` when the cone clutch member 23 is shifted to contact the member 24, the pinion 17 will be driven in one direction, and when the member 23 is shifted in the opposite direction to contact the `member S25, the pinion 17 will be driven in the opposite direction. Accordingly, the steering of the tractor may be controlled by movement or the member 23 into engagement with T he shaft nected the control rod of the hand-steering Wheel so that the tractor may be steered by hand if such control is desirable.

T he steering clutch is controlled by means of yoke 33 keyed to a shatt- 34 to which is fixed a. crank 35 connected by means ot' a link 36 to an eccentric 37 slidably keyed to a control shaft 38. lVhenever the shaft 38 is rotated slightly, the link 36 will be moved up or doven and its motion transmitted to the clutch member 23 to slide that member in either direction. it will accordingly he ol served that the steering' of the tractor is controlled by oscillation of the shalt 38 about its own axis.

The clutch and gear shift are controlled through the medium of a cam 40 which is pivoted to the coupling 'frame at the point 4i and connected by a link 42 and a univer sal joint to the shaft 38. The cam is moved l by a longitudinal movement of the shaft 38, such movement being permitted Without interfering' with the eccentric connection be cause ot the sliding connection of the eccentric to the shaft 38. The lever 13 `which controls the tractor clutch carries a cam roller 43 operating in a cam slot 44 in cam 40 and the lever 14 which controls the gear shift carries a cam roller 45 operating in a cam slot 46 of the cam 40. The shape ot these cam slots may be varied to suit the requirements but, in the construction shown, the shape is such that the sears cannot be shifted eacept when the clutch is thrown out.

mit

The neutral position of the cam isillustrated in Figure 2 in which the lever 13 is in its uppermost position and the clutch is out. The position of the lever 14 is such that the gears are in neutral.

When it is desired to drive backward, the rod 38 is pulled'backward rotating the'cam 40 in a clockwise direction about the pivot 41. The slope of the cam slot 46 is such that this movement will quickly throw the lever 14 upwardly, thereby, throwing the gears into reverse. The initial movement of the cam will not move the clutch lever 13 to engage the clutch because the slope of the cam slot 44 is not as sharp as that of the slot 46. The gears will consequently be thrown into reverse before the clutch is engaged, the arrangement being such that the gears are thrown in by the time the cam roller 45 has moved to the turning point in the l.shaped slot 46. Further movement of the cam will serve to lock the gear shift lever in reverse and pull the clutch in. lf it is now desired to return to neutral, the rod 38 is pushed forward, thereby rotating the cam 40 in a counter-clockwise direction. The initial movement of the cam will not vary the position of the gear shift lever because of the shape of the cam 46 but the initial movement will throw out the clutch after which the cam 46 will cause the gear shift arm 14 to move to neutral position.

When it is desired to go forward, the rod 38 is pushed forward causing the cam 40 to move forward in a counter-clockwise direction. The initial movement of the cam throws. the gear shift lever 14 downward thereby throwing the gears into their fori.) li

ward position. rthis initial movement does not affect they clutch but a continued movement of the cam locks the gear shift lever' 14 in position and throws the clutch in. lli/hen it is desired to return to neutral, the rod 38 is pulled backward toward its neutral position, the initial movement serving to throw out the clutch and later movement to disengage the gears.

ln the'moditication illustrated in Figures l land 2, thelever l5 controlling the dii'erential lock, is controlled byI a separaterod 50' extending to the rear of the coupling trame within easy-reach of the operator.

It will be clear that with the construction above described the steering of the tractor may be controlled by an oscillating movement of the shaft 38 about its own axis and the starting, stopping and driving in either direction, may be controlled by reciprocating` movements of that shaft. rlhese movements are controlled by means of a single lever 51 which is pivoted to a bracket 52 on the coupling frame in such a way that the'lever may be swung to either side or forward or backward. The lever is connected to the shaft 38 by means ot a rod 53 preferably com pled to shaft 38 by means of a universal joint.- This rod is arranged so thatits length may be varied to suit the requirements and to permit the control lever` to be removed from the coupling frame and placed on a suitable bracket be drawn.

When the control lever' 5l is pushed straight forward the tractor will be driven forward. When it is pulled back to its verf tical position the tractor will' be stopped. When it is pulled backward the tractor will back up. `When it is thrown tothe left the tractor will be steered to the left and when it is thrown to the right the tractor will be steered to the right. Various combinations of these movements may be secured, that is if the leveris pushed forward and to the rightthe tractor will move forward to the right and if it is pulled backward to the right, the tractor will back toward the right. The same movements may be secured to the left and in any amount desired depending upon the manner in which vthe operator manipulates the lever. Y

A modification of the lever construction is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. ln this construction7 the lever lisfconnected tothe shaft 38 by a rod 53 but'the rod 53 :controls only reciprocating movements of the shaft 38. The eccentric for controlling the steer? ing mechanism is omitted.k vInstead the yoke 33 that controls the sliding clutch 23 has a portion 54 extending vertically which is connected to a rod 55 that in turn is connected to a bell crank lever 56, one arm 57 of which constitutes a beveled gear sector meshing with a bevel sector 58 connected to a shaft 59 arranged to be oscillated by movements of the lever 51. forward or backward, the motion will be transmitted to the rod 53 and the shaft 38 to control the clutch and gears, and when the lever is thrown to the right or left the movement will be transmitted to the sectors 57 and 58 to reciprocate the rod 55 which will shift the Steering clutch 23 in a corresponding direction.

, A further modification of the lever mechanism is illustrated in Figures 8 and 9. This construction permits thc control rods to be positioned within a hollow tube 60 forming a portion of the coupling frame in place of the channel beams in Figure 1. The lever When the lever 5l is moved which cooperates a roller 7l connected'to one tit) arm vof the lever 72 which may be used to controlthe throttle of the engine. The cam slot 70 is arranged so that when the tractor is being driven either forward or backward the control lever 51 may be pulleda little further in the direction in which it has been moved for driving the tractor to thereby open the throttle slightly to give the tractor more -fuel.

Figure. l0 illustrates a further use of the power shaft 2l which is brought back to the coupling frame from the motor. This shaft extends through the steering housing 22 and isconnected by a universal joint to a rod 8O which in turn is connected by a universal joint to the driving rod of a sickle bar 81 or other suitable mechanism adapted for operation by the tractor. In this case the rear end of the coupling frame is supported by wheels 82 supporting the frame 83 to which the sickle bar attachment may be connected.

lt will be understood that a variety of implements ma be attached to the coupling frame and be riven by the power shaft 80. These devices may be in the nature of attachments carried by the trailing frame 83 or the implement itself may constitute a unit that is attached to the coupling frame. lt will also be understood that the location of the attachment may be varied to suit the requirements, that is, the sickle bar may be near the wheels 82 or it maybe located further forward. By means of this arrangement the implement may be operated by the power of the tractor rather than through connections from the drive wheels of the implement itself.

he control mechanism provided by the invention hereinbefore described greatly simplifies the process of controlling a tractor. This is highly important in view of the fact that the operator must generally give considerable attention to the implement which is drawn by the tractor so that the simpler the tractor controls the better attention the operator can give to the implement. y

It is to be understood that the details of the control mechanism may be varied and the single lever may be used to manipulate all the controls or any combination of them. rlhe steering may be, and preferably is, controlled by the sainel lever that controls the other` mechanism but if it should be desired to steer separately the controls can be separated as illustrated. The parts are all relatively simple and in one modification, most of the control levers are housed within a 40 is illustrated hollow tube. The housing can also be di vided if desired for enclosing the cam mechanism so that all the moving parts are out of sight and away from dust and dirt.

The construction shown is for purposes of illustration only and various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What We claim is:

l. A tractor having a power plant, driving mechanism including a clutch and transmission, steering mechanism independent of the driving mechanism, and controlling means for the clutch, transmission, and steering mechanisms operable by a single member that is movable forward, backward, to the right, to the left, or in any combination of these directions.

2. A tractor having a power plant, drivin mechanism including a clutch and transmission, steering mechanism independent of the driving mechanism, controlling means for said clutch, transmission, and .steering mechanism, and a single lever for operating said controlling means, said lever being mounted so that it normally stands in a substantial vertical position when the tractor is stationary, but may be moved forward, backward, to the right, to the left, or in any combination of these directions to thereby control tlic clutch, transmission, and steering mechanisms to cause the tractor to move in a direction corresponding to the direction of movement of the lever.

3. A tractor having a power plant, driving mechanism, steering mechanism, acceleratiii mechanism, and controlling means Operaile by a single lever for controlling said driying, steering, and accelerating mechanisms.

4. A tractor having a power plant, driving mechanism, steering mechanism, accel` erating mechanism, controlling means for said driving, steering, and accelerating mechanisms, and a single lever for operating the controlling means mounted so that it may be moved forward, backward, to the right, to the left, 0r in any combination of these directions to thereby operate the controlling means to drive the tractor yin a direction corresponding to the movement of the lever` and to accelerate it in that direction.

5. A tractor having driving mechanism including a clutch and a transmission, steen ing mechanism operable independently of the clutch and transmission, and means con* trolled by a single lever foi' manipulating the clutch and transmission and for controlling the steering mechanism, said means including devices serving to prevent the transmission from being operated while the clutch is engaged.

6. A front wheel drive tractor having a Uli lll)

startimY sto i ine and reversin the tractor.

r ha r;

i". iivlront wheel drive tractor having a power plant, driving mechanism including a clutch and a transmission, steering mechanism, a coupling frame extending rearwardly, and means manipulated by a single lever located adjacent the rear of the coupling trame for controlling the clutch, the

transmission, and the steering mechanism.

8. A front wheel drivey tractor having a power plant, a rearwardly extending coupling frame pivoted to the tractor to swing about a substantially vertical axis. devices on the tractor for starting, stopping and reversing it, steering mechanism, and means operable by a single lever located adjacent the rear et the coupling frame for controlling the steering mechanism and the devices for starting, stopping and reversing the tractor.

9. i front wheel drive tractor having a power plant, a rearwardly extending coupling frame pivoted to the tractor to swing about a substantially vertical axis, power operated mechanism for swinging the frame to steer the tractor, devices for controlling the steering, stopping, and reversing of the tractor, and mea-ns Operable by a single lever.

located adjacent the rear of the coupling frame 'for controllingthe power operated steering mechanism and the devices for teering, stopping', and reversing the tractor.

l0. A front wheel drive tractor having a power plant, driving mechanism including a clutch and transmission, a rearwardly extending coupling frame pivoted to the tractor to swing about a substantially vertical axis, power operated steering mechanism for swinging the coupling frame to steer the tractor, and means operable by a single lever :tor controlling the power operated steering mechanism, the clutch.. and the transmission.

il. A front wheel drive tractor having a power plant, a rearwardly extending coupling trame pivoted to the tractor to swing about a substantially vertical anis, power cgi-rated means carried by the coupling frame for swinging said frame to steer the tractor, driving mechanism including a clutch and transmission, and means operable by asingleleve'r mounted on the coupling vframe near the rear thereof so that movements of the lever to the right or left control the steering mechanism, and movements of the lever forward and backward control the clutch and transmission.

12. A front wheel drive tractor having a power plant, a rearwardly ling frame pivoted to the tractor to swing about a substantially vertical axis, driving mechanism including a clutch and transmission, steering mechanism independent of the driving mechanism, and controlling means for the4 clutch, transmission, and

4steering mechanism includino' a single lever mounted on the coupling iiame near the rear thereof and movable forward, backward, to the right, to the left, or in any combination of these directions to thereby control the clutch, transmission, and steering mechanism to cause the tractor to move in`a direction corresponding to the direction of movement of the lever.

13. A tractor having a power plant, driving mechanism including a clutch and transmission, steering mechanism, controlling means for the driving and steering mechanisms, said means Iincluding a plurality of levers adapted to control the various devices making up the driving mechanism, a cam mechanism for operating said levers in the ldesired sequence, and a single lever for manipulating the controlling means so that the steering mechanism and the driving mechanism may be operated independently or both o erated together.

14. A ront wheel drive tractor having a power plant, driving mechanism, steermg mechanism including a coupling frame pivoted to the tractor to swing about a substantially vertical axis, controlling means for said mechanisms, said means including a power shaft extending rearwardly from the tractor to the coupling frame, and connections from said power shaft to an implement to be drawn arranged so as to be connectable to said implement to operate its mechanism by the ower of the tractor.

l5. A front whee drive tractor having a power plant, driving mechanism, steering mechanism including a coupling frame pivoted to the tractor to swing about a substantially vertical axis, and a power shaft extending from the tractor to the coupling frame serving to operate the steering mechanism and also to be connected to various devices to be drawn to operate said devices by means of the power of the tractor.

ln testimony whereof, we have affixed our signatures.

LEROY C. SHONTS. TS W. HUWAR-D.

extending coup- 

